2 Commentson "Tirelessly Treading on Tigers"

The overall forms may be “Wright” but a whole bunch of other stuff is just wrong. I gotta think Frank Lloyd Junior’s old man is rolling in his grave.

‘Kay, so, it looks like a Prairie Style home. ‘Cept it’s covered in non-structural rock. I hesitate to call it stone simply because it’s so, well, unattractive. The larger issue is that it’s non-structural. Wright the Elder was all about “form follows function” (even if Falling Water has had to be rebuilt multiple times due to structural insufficiencies). That much non-functional material would have sent him into a tizzy, especially being at the center point of the house, which is supposed to convey a sense of centering and solid reliability.

The Old Man also would never – and I mean never – would have allowed his subjects, er, his acolytes… um… clients(?) to get away with a good deal of that decor. The Asian influenced stuff is right on target, but the French Provincial bedroom suites? The Empire side table in the entry? The unbelievably mundane paneling in the family room? Even the contemporary breakfast set is of the highly dated, sorta-schlocky looking variety. What about that mountain man themed man cave, complete with dedicated poker table? And let’s not forget the horrid bright blue patio furniture.

Sure, the grounds are exquisite (even if there is a parking lot just outside the front door) and the interior spaces do have loads of potential, but still… Old Man Wright lived by the tenet that just because you have to have paying clients to stay in business that’s no reason to let them do whatever they want to with your creation, dammit, even after they’ve paid you for it. I tend to think of him as an (admittedly brilliant) architectural fascist, but then there are times… like now… that his being a control freak makes a whole lotta sense.